Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Quebecers finally need a new nickname for Montreal's Olympic Stadium — the "Big Owe" no longer applies because they've paid off their debts from the 1976 Summer Games.

Officials from the Olympic Installations Board, which oversees the stadium, have confirmed that the last payment was made in mid-November, three decades after the world descended on Montreal for the Games.

Thirty fucking years, just as old as Drapeau's love child (you had to be there to get that one)

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Friday, December 08, 2006

Throwies are a revolution in temporary art: invented by the Graffiti Research Lab, they can stick to anything that is ferromagnetic and glow for about two weeks. On December 8th, we will create a thousand points of light when we decorate a massive surprise with colourful brilliance. Each participant will be given a handful of these delightful devices and let loose simultaneously :)

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

It is new, in that it is the soundtrack for the (shiver) Cirque de Soleil's (shiver) Vegas show based around the music of the Beatles.

Fine, sort of.

Why must the biggest acts always end up there, living or dead?

Anyway, if anyone has the right to fuck around with the Beatles, it's George Martin.

And fuck around he has, with the aid of his son. In the context of a show such as CDS, it might work great...but to listen to as a stand alone, that's something else.

Songs such as Strawberry Fields get the treatment, which works to a certain extent when it is contained within the same song, but as the song progresses, other songs are layer in...to disastrous effect.

On the plus side, the newly cleaned up version sound wonderful, and one can just imagine what the digital releases of the original songs will be like.

(That is if they leave them alone. Certain "mistakes" were quietly removed from the CD releases, and I can only assume that this Lucasizing will continue.)

I don't care what the surviving Beatles say, Lennon if alive would smite them, one and all.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

When Adolf Hitler bought Eva Braun a movie camera, to film the people and parties which occurred at their Bavarian retreat, the technology to include synchronized sound had not yet been developed.

So when soldiers discovered Hitler's private home movies, in the Berlin bunker where the Nazi leader took his own life, the tantalizing clips they unearthed, featuring leading members of the SS in a more relaxed mode, remained silent for 60 years.

Now, leading edge lip reading software has enabled German experts to re-voice these films and provide us with a chilling insight into Hitlers private world.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Archaeologists have unearthed what they say are the only existing imperial insignia belonging to Emperor Maxentius - precious objects that were buried to preserve them and keep them from enemies when he was defeated by his rival Constantine.

Monday, November 27, 2006

"DENVER - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti- Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan."

Oh, yes, I guess they are.

"Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said."

Maybe Mr. Kearns will sound a note of sanity...

"Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members."

"Throw in the Zune's tail-wagging relationship with music publishers, and it almost becomes important that you encourage people not to buy one.

The iPod owns 85 percent of the market because it deserves to. Apple consistently makes decisions that benefit the company, the users and the media publishers -- and they continue to innovatively expand the device's capabilities without sacrificing its simplicity.

Companies such as Toshiba and Sandisk (with its wonderful Nano-like Sansa e200 series) compete effectively with the iPod by asking themselves, "What are the things that users want and Apple refuses to provide?"

Microsoft's colossal blunder was to knock the user out of that question and put the music industry in its place.

Result: The Zune will be dead and gone within six months. Good riddance."

Agreed. The recording/music industries are trying desperately to rip back control from us (after they lost it with the advent of CDs/Mp3s) without telling us that is what they are doing.

"Take the Zune's one unique and potentially ginchy feature: Wi-Fi. You see this printed on the box and you immediately think "Cool. So I can sync files from my desktop library without having to plug in a USB cable, right? Maybe even download new content directly to the device from the Internet?"

Typical, selfish user: How does your convenience help make money for Universal? No wonder Doug despises you.

No, the Zune's sole wireless feature is "squirting" -- I know, I know, it's Microsoft's term, not mine -- music and pictures to any other Zune device within direct Wi-Fi range. Even if the track is inherently free (like a podcast) the Zune wraps it in a DRM scheme that causes the track to self-destruct after three days or three plays, whichever comes first.

After that, it's nothing more than a bookmark for purchasing the track in the Zune Marketplace. It amounts to nothing more than free advertising."

The music industry does sometimes let their actual feelings slip out:

""These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," said Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group. "So it's time to get paid for it."

Well, Morris is just a big, clueless idiot, of course. Do you honestly want morons like him to have power over your music player?"

Absolutely not. We must fight these people with our pocket books. Don't let them take away the digital freedom we now enjoy.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Friday, November 10, 2006

With all the fuss about Borat recently (and in a year it will be "Borat who?"), I was thinking about another piece of entertainment ( I use the term loosely), namely Scarface.

Digg had a link to an article about The Best Worst Movies, and our little friend Scarface comes in at # 3 (#1 is a collection of Sylvester Stallone films. The article itself is rather pointless, as the author has not seemed to have viewed a movie made before 1980).

This little opus, released on an unsuspecting world in 1983, is a remake of the vastly superior original from 1932 (any viewing of the 1983 version *must* at some point be preceded by a viewing of Scarface, the Shame of the Nation. Look for the Xs. They are also used here and there in the 83 version, but without the skill).

Its director, Brian De Palma, has undergone an interesting transformation since then. Well, not so much him, as his reputation.

One of the great truimphs of the 80's has been that what drove the decade has been largely forgotten. Much of 80's music and film was a conscious effort to revisit the styles of an early period. Some of this produced good work. "Blade Runner" or "Back to the Future" for example.

The triumph comes in that today, the works that these works were based on are now largely forgotten, and the 80's films are seen as 100% original.

At the time, De Palma was seen as a hack, a warmed over Hitchcock with little originality. Not so anymore..the 80's babies now see him as a master film maker, an genius.

*smack head to make sure I'm awake*

Not so anymore..the 80's babies now see him as a master film maker, an genius.

*smack* nope, I'm awake.

And this list of "classics"? Dressed to Kill (stolen Hitchcock), Blow Out (stolen Blow Up), The Untouchables (now here I can see that it is a good film, with a classic line "That's the Chicago way", but for me it doesn't work all the way through. And while writing this I have learned he is doing The Untouchables II - Capone Rising).

But, topping the recently compiled list of De Palma's great works is Scarface.

Oh my fucking God. As the above mention article states: Settle down, holmes. I know your Tony Montana silk-screened shirt, bedsheets, pool table cover, and mudflaps bristle at the thought of Scarface being called a "bad" movie, but ignore the hype and the fake gangster posturing and do something you've never done: Watch the movie.

I did just that recently to see if my view of the film had changed since the last time in the 90's when I saw it.

It hasn't. (the article is actually kinder: Still, as generally trashy B-movie stuff goes, it's good stuff, and we don't mind wallowing in Tony's sleaze any chance we get. Just wipe your nose and keep it in perspective.

The movie goes well below B.

Al Pacino, who is no stranger to overacting, outdoes even himself with this performance. Audiences in 1983 immediately heard not a authentic Cubic voice, but Ricky Ricardo gone bad.

Ricky Ricardo?...I love Lucy?...oh never mind.

I can sympathize with U.S. viewers of today not knowing what an actual Cuban sounds like, as your government has protected you from such things since 1959, but believe me, Tony Montana isn't it.

With this revisionist trend continuing, can "The Bonfire of the Vanities" classic status be far behind?

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The U.S. Government seems bent on controlling more aspects of their citizen's lives...

"The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore.

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior of adults."

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The mayor of Montreal, Gerald Tremblay, announced - without consultation - that Montreal's 'Avenue du Parc' would be renamed 'Avenue Robert Bourassa.' The street has a lot of history and hosts some thriving communities, so feeling is rising high on the issue. A web-consulting company - that happens to be located on Avenue du Parc - put up an e-petition. When I first saw the thing they were aiming to collect 1000 'signatures.' It's grown so fast over the past day that they're now aiming for 20000. I keep getting emails from friends with a link to the petition and it seems to be growing by the minute."

I only just heard about this on Saturday. Who the fuck does Tremblay think he is? Bourassa? BooBoo Bourassa? A street named after him (?!), and of course it's one that had an English (sounding) name. Only bunkers should be named after old BooBoo.

There is an online petition here. It can only be signed by Montrealers, so tell any if you know any!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Friday, October 13, 2006

Early shell beads from recent and old excavations push back the date for human culture

"There is a heated debate on when did we become culturally modern, that is when did we develop language, symbolic thinking, religion, etc. Personal ornaments, along with art, are unanimously seen as archaeological proof of the acquisition of those abilities."

"The question is: will NBC be tolerant of the quasi-political themes that BSG seems to take from the most controversial page of world events?"

Quasi? Season 3's opener was a pretty clear inditement of the whole Bush mess, or at least to me it was. So yes, the network might mess with that. I'm more afraid of the "7 of 9 Syndrome", where there will be more ballistic breasts coming at you from every angle.

Last night, the CBS Evening News turned their broadcast over to a man named Brian Rohrbough, who lost his son during the Columbine massacre. Mr. Rohrbough proceeded to blame recent school shootings on: 1) the teaching of evolution, and 2) abortion. Watch it:

The countdown begins! This Thursday, October 5, is hammer time as Christie's auction house in New York begins bringing the gavel down on items spanning the entire 40-year career of the Star Trek franchise. This historic auction will take place over the course of three days (Oct. 5-7) and promises to be a huge hit throughout the galaxy. (We have it on good authority!)

Monday, October 02, 2006

A Tyrannosaurus rex fossil has yielded what appear to be the only preserved soft tissues ever recovered from a dinosaur. Taken from a 70-million-year-old thighbone, the structures look like the blood vessels, cells, and proteins involved in bone formation.

If this series wanted to be a successor to "Cosmos", it falls far short. Hosted by Sam Neil, it boasts excellent 3d graphics, but has a limited view of modern findings (the origins of life on Earth are explained "only" by it arriving in a comet. This explains nothing) and has a dark view of the universe.

Yeah yeah, I know, we're all criminals and terrorists if we've every even though of downloading a song off the internet (you should see Bin Laden's Abba collection).

Well, I bought my first "legal" music from the Apple Music Store yesterday, and it was surprisingly easy experience. Maybe too easy ;)

What I got was Sloan "Never Hear the End of It". I've listened to Sloan over the years, first hearing them in 1993 . With this release (which I heard in a video store playing, and asked the clerk what it was), it shows they have listened to their Hollies and Beatle records, but it still has their distinctive sound as well.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

This is not the first time in my lifetime a film has popped up that seems to have more of a purpose than to merely entertain.

PT 109 (1963), The Green Berets (1968), M*A*S*H* (1969), All the President's Men (1976), Red Dawn (1984), Amerika (mini-series 1987, interestingly on ABC), Wag the Dog (1997) to name just a few that took a view (on one side or another) on an issue of the day.

"The Path to 911" (ABC 2006) just maybe the most charged of the lot. It really does seem someone wants their view of 911 out there in a big way. Coming as it does 2 months before an election, whoever is behind this doesn't seem to give a fuck what is though of their method of delivery (and doesn't that poster speak volumes?), as long as it gets out there.

Funny how gas prices have dropped.

I will be watching this blatant piece of propaganda just to see how far they will go.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

In the 1980's, I used to listen to late night radio show by Steve Freeman (or Freedman...Friedman actually) out of WCAU 1210 Philadelphia. He seem on the verge of the big-time, with his vast knowledge of film, but I lost contact with the show. The below may explain it better:

"Many radio insiders agree that the 1970s started a period of decline at WCAU. After orders from Paley to go all news, the station did poorly against an entrenched KYW. By the end of the 1970s, the station began losing money. In the early 80s, WCAU lost its focus flipping between all-news and news-talk. By the late 80s, the station settled into a mostly talk format. Well-known hosts during this period included former Mayor Frank Rizzo, whom callers would regularly urge to run again for public office. There was also Steve Fredericks with sports, Harry Gross' financial show as well as Tony Bruno, Dominic Quinn, and Clark DeLeon.

(notice Steve's absence here...)

On August 15, 1990 at 1:05 p.m., the 68 year history of WCAU came to an end. CBS, citing massive losses, fired over 30 of the station's employees, including most of the talk-show hosts and the entire news department. The format was changed to oldies, with half of the broadcast day simulcasting sister station WOGL-FM. The sudden switch stunned radio analysts across the country, many of whom felt that the station could have been salvaged. Known as WOGL-AM, the station retained much of its evening sports programming."

I can only assume he was victim of this. I did hear him again in the 90's, but the show was much reduced in length (the old show was sometimes 8 hours long).

Information on him seems non existent on the net, except for a post on an Elijah Wood board, dated February 12, 2006:

"Last night I was listening to a local radio talk show hosted by a man named Steve Freedman, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of movies. Someone called in talking about a film called Duma that had received very good reviews, but that had played in only a few cities. He himself had had to take his family to New York to see it. The movie was released in the US by Warner Brothers, and Steve started talking about how Warner (which, as we all know, was responsible for EII, through Warner Independent Pictures) has a reputation for picking up offbeat or specialized indies, and then just not distributing them widely, with the result that they never get a chance to develop an audience. I suppose it's some (cold) comfort to know that EII's plight wasn't unique."

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Thursday, June 08, 2006

"Ball lightning has puzzled scientists for centuries. Though little reliable data exist, there have been many anecdotal sightings, with people as diverse and famous as Charlemagne, Henry II and the physicist Niels Bohr all claiming to have seen it."

And me!

In the early 90's, I was in the back seat of a car, driving through a storm. As we passed the agritcultural college at the western tip of the island of Montreal, a blue-purple ball of light "bounced" along the ground in a field to my left. In the time it took for me to say "Did you see that" it was gone.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Saturday, May 27, 2006

We here in Canada have a growing problem, one of your own foolish doing.

In this day and age, we gave Conservatives power.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Increasingly it seems this minority government is doing all it can to silence critics, misdirect the public and hide their uglier side from all of us.

Too late.

Conservatives in this period want to turn back the clock, to some imagined golden age of the past. (I remember the tail end of that past, and it wasn't so golden, believe me...oh ok it was, if you were white, and straight, and well off, and...).

We now have an extended war we didn't ask for, with news black outs of any results (if unfavourable to the cause), and now this.

Given their way, they will take away rights granted under Canadian Law. And here I thought only Québec could do that.

Friday, May 12, 2006

President Bush has declared all citizens of the United States as suspected al Qaeda agents.

We thank God that America had the foresight to re-elect this fine man to a second term. We here in Canada thought this a grievous error, but we now see it as part of God's plan.

Remembering that Mr. Bush is a respected world leader, we take this threat from the citizens of the U.S. seriously. We are relieved to learn that he has taken the correct "first" steps by collecting all phone records. We can only hope that secret arrests and a complete control of the press/Internet are next, followed by suppression of all left wing agitators such as women, gays and scientists.

Mr. Bush, do what you have to do. Anything to stop this serious threat from our "friends" to the south.

Friday, May 05, 2006

""Preventing truth decay"...THE TRUTH FOR YOUTH...the entire New Testament along with powerful, full color comics that are packed with the absolute truth regarding moral issues young people are faced with everyday. Sometimes the truth hurts. But you've got to deal with it. If you can handle the truth..."

Endless hours of fun with 1st century thought and fuzzy logic, all with pretty pictures.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Toronto is in the middle of a condo boom, the billboards appearing everywhere, proudly proclaiming the outrageous prices being asked. Usually with big ticket items the price is not shouted so (ok, cars), but with condos it is just the opposite.

"From $800, 000 to over 2 million!"

(these range from the pretentious "Home to Kings" One Bedford project on Bloor to the ridiculous and more than a little disturbing "Brad J. Lamb" campaign (if you live here you know what I mean...though using sheep imagery to represent condo buyers is inspired))

Btw, the "One Bedford" project uses King Tut's image on their billboards. The Pharaohs should rise up and smite these upstart commoners..imho

So let it be written, so let it be done.

Many are appearing in so called "poorer" neighbourhoods, a foothold they are not soon to give up. (one such project has it's viewing "office" spray painted with the words "GET OUT")

So some pissed-off people barged into the sales office of a luxury condo building in Brooklyn on Sunday, angry about the $500,000 to 1.3 million price of the crackerboxes and also over the nice fat tax subsidy the developer and buyers get from the city due to a relic exemption from the 1970s NY fiscal disaster.

Anyway, it’s heartening to see people fight back against this shit, but kinda sick to read a quote from a privileged princess who had this to say about the protesters:

Jenny Malone, a prospective buyer at Beacon Tower, rushed out when the protesters busted in. “Tell them to get jobs and go live in the projects,” she said. “People just want something for nothing.”

Wow. That kind of hubris is a real buzzkill.

Won't stop 'em though, nothing the rich hate more than the poor...other than minorities (condo advertising in Toronto remains the whitest you'll ever see) and gays of course (unless they have money).

"Conservative government slap[s] a ban on news media coverage of the coffins' return home to Canada"

What are they afraid of??

"The cost of the war should always be shown front and center, so we can make informed decisions," Sean Bruyea, a retired captain and veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, who has fought for veterans rights, said in an interview from Ottawa. "We rely a lot on public support. I would hope Canadians would step up to the plate to defend us."

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Available as a download beginning today, [Apple's] Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS X or Windows XP.